


Meeting in the Middle

by O-R-I (Writing_squiggle)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Also some action, Arranged Marriage, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Genji/Hanzo Reconciliation, Married to Friends to Lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-30 18:02:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13957047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writing_squiggle/pseuds/O-R-I
Summary: You were married to Genji, arranged by your parents and his many years before either of you knew each other. You barely thought of your husband, even after his death, while roaming the world honing your skills. At least not until he stumbled into your life again with a twirl of your fan.Maybe now there was a chance for the two of you to fall in love, finally away from the meddling of the Shimada clan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just an idea I had that I realised I could turn into a slow burn fic, I thought it would be interesting to write about Reader being in an arranged marriage and not caring much for each other until much later in their lives. It'll end up with a romance of course and I hope you enjoy the ride I'm going to write.

Genji slid up the wall, his lights already dimming to slink into the darkness inside of the large stylized building. He forced himself to remember the building’s blueprint, where to slip away to the second he gets inside. Movement flittered across the corner of his eye and he turned to the side to confirm it was his brother slipping into another window, refusing to even acknowledge the cyborg.

He held back a sigh, there seemed to be so much progress after Hanzo finally agreed to come to Overwatch. But truthfully it was frustrating, for every step Genji made towards Hanzo the archer would take two steps back.

He pushed that to the side, figuring it wasn’t the time to think about his estranged brother. There was a new masked vigilante on the streets and Overwatch would very much like some new talent to help them.

McCree gave a little word on the radio that he made his way in, Hanzo confirming the same. As Genji’s feet slipped to rest against the ground he added his own voice to the radio, quickly going silent as he peered around with his night filter on in his mask and the building was quickly swathed in green light.

He scurried forward with an ear out, his head swivelling around to catch a glimpse of whoever should be here. There was always the possibility of this being a trap but he decided to be optimistic and hope that someone would actually be here to bring back to Overwatch.

“Movement in the main hall,” Hanzo said, Genji looking down and seeing a body shift through the floor from one of his brother’s sonic arrows.

He slid down the elevator shaft, hand grasping the metal wire rope to stop himself from thudding loudly against the metal roof. He unlocked the top and slid into the elevator, gently easing it open with a lean of his lithe body.

He gently eased into the main hall, a metal hand trailing above the floor as he peered around. He silently snuck forward, peering down the rows of chairs as he came by them. He drew near to a pair of columns, looking to the front of the one on the right when something twirled forward on his left.

Something flat and heavy smacked against his mask, his feet lifting off the ground as he was thrown back. He pulled out his sword and the lights turned on, a figure in armour standing in front of him. A Noh mask peered at him shifting slightly in the light to change the expression coming from the shadow.

A naginata stabbed towards him and he dashed back, throwing his sword up to clash against the blade of the staff. He gave a grunt as he pushed himself back, the figure not giving up and swiping towards him and matching each step he tried to take to get away.

An arrow soared through the air and the naginata pulled back to whack it through the air, the arrowhead thudding into the chair next to them.  Genji decided to press his advantage and a fan pulled up, Genji wondering what they were planning to do when it smacked against the side of his head.

He gave a moan as he skidded again, realizing what had hit him in the dark was the fan that seemed to be made of some kind of hard fabric. It flitted around in their hand before smacking him again, his hand raising instinctively to stop it.

His brother called out and the figure froze, fan halfway to hitting him again before it smacked him one last time. Jesse appeared behind you with his gun up and you just ignored the gunslinger, tilting your head as you just peered at Genji.

“You’re alive?” something was so familiar with that voice and he couldn’t put a name to it, Hanzo landing on the ground next to you, “Hanzo?”

“Who are you?” Hanzo demanded, his patience to figure out this puzzle was thin.

McCree just stalked towards the three of you and you just lifted your mask with a sigh. As soon as you face came into view, Hanzo burst into a loud barking laugh before turning away and Genji couldn’t help but cringe.

Of all the people he wondered this vigilante could be he certainly wasn’t expecting it to be you.

“You know ‘em?” Jesse asked, putting his gun away

Genji just nodded, unsure of how to explain this. Hanzo quickly settled down next to him, his attention towards you dwindling as your presence began to remind him of a time that he rather wouldn’t think of. Jesse just looked between the two brothers as neither of them took it in them to explain to you why they were here.

McCree quickly took the reins, explaining why the three of them were stalking you. Hanzo couldn’t help but smirk as Jesse winked at you, that sultry charm radiating from the cowboy wannabe as soon as he saw your face.

You gave a shrug as you hung your fan onto your breastplate, folding up the naginata with a few presses of a button. McCree tilted his hat towards you and you followed the three of them, Genji tilting his entire body away from you.

There was a woman waiting at the dropship, supposedly there to make sure to patch up any injuries should they occur. McCree introducing you to the woman, she taking your hand and peering into your eyes with a smile.

“Dr Angela Ziegler,” she said, “Mercy on the field.”

You tilted your head in greeting before Genji quickly scurried past you to situate himself on one end of the dropship. You took the hint and settled on the other side of the room, leg crossing over the other as you watched everyone settle down before the ship took off.

You simply sat there and awkwardness just settled across the dropship. Your thumb trailed across the folded weapon in your lap and the gunslinger just looked between the two Shimada’s refusing to look at you. There was a clear term of familiarity between the three of you, confusing both McCree and Angela.

“Soo…” McCree started, his head resting on his metal hand, “You know Genji?”

“I am his wife,” your fingers slipped into each other and Genji cringed at the surprise crossing Jesse’s face, Hanzo even refusing to look at you even more if it was possible for him.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” he confessed, Mercy giving a peer over Jesse’s shoulder to see Genji rest his head in his hands with a sigh.

“Arranged marriage, not a bad one for me either. He never hit me and he’s around my age at least,” you said with a tone that was more apt towards describing the weather and not swearing your life to another.

“Good in battle,” Genji said loudly, almost abruptly so in the cool silence, “They’re a good agent for us.”

Hanzo gave a snort, the two of them beginning to snap at each other in Japanese. You followed a bit of it but quickly zoned it out when you heard nothing of use. 

“Though you could have let me know you were alive Genji,” you said with that cool tone, everyone else grateful that the ship just landed and quickly leaving.

“I doubt you cared that much about me,” he shrugged.

“We weren’t divorced, still married by all accounts,” you said, “Would be nice to know that at least.”

He just shrugged, leaving as well. Hanzo quickly scurried out of your sight, just as uncomfortable with the past sitting there with them. You gave a stretch before grabbing your stuff, amused at how your life had turned out.

You stepped out of the dropship to be kicked in the face by the salty humidity that you associated with your childhoods by the beach. You took an indulgent sniff before leaving it with a sigh, your heart growing heavy with each step forward. People scurried around, desperation radiating from them with every step and you began to wonder if it was a smart decision to latch yourself to the illegal group.

You could probably still slip away, just wait for the next batch of money that your family slips to you when they can and keep moving.

You shook those thoughts aside, genuinely curious about how Genji survived the attack from Hanzo those years ago. Though barely surviving might be a better description, judging by the metal that encased his body.

A gorilla stood up ahead and you were thankful that your family had enough of a toe in the water so you didn’t make an ass of yourself, instead just keeping the cool face that you were trained to keep from birth as you looked up.

“Ummn,” he said, eyes flickering towards you and the cyborg who was keeping his distance, “Do you need to share a room.”

“Not like we shared a room when we were actually together,” you said, shrugging, “Anywhere is fine.”

“Okay,” Winston said, calling Genji over who reluctantly stepped towards you, “Mind showing them around?”

It was very clear that he did mind but still gave a slow nod, Winston relaxing before letting Genji know the room that you would be staying in. You just followed Genji, perfectly shadowing him a few steps back. His pace began to slow before he got to the nearest room and stopping.

“So,” he said, his body tense, “why are you here?”

“Here as in Overwatch?” you folded your arms, “Because you invited me.”

“Your family adored you, why are you not home?”

“When Hanzo struck you down my clan became antagonistic to the Shimadas,” you explained, “When we married you became a part of our clan and they struck down family.”

"Truthfully I think it may have been a way to draw support on throwing them down,” you looked up, “so officially I’m ‘grieving’ a husband I never loved and far away so the Shimada’s can’t ransom me to stop the infighting.”

He was silent, the only clue that your words had reached him was the way his hand clenched. They relaxed and you heard him mutter something under his breath, something you may have called peace radiating from his body before he started walking again.

“I am sorry for everything that happened,” he said, “Perhaps we should set the past aside.”

“Perhaps,” you mused before adding with a light tone, “I’m not signing a divorce form.”

He chuckled before opening the door, about to show you what was inside with a miniature rant, “Just like you to be stubborn.”

“Very well,” he said, letting you in and you peering around, “Here is the shooting range.”


	2. Chapter 2

You peered at the Jesse, legs crossing as you shuffled even higher on to the couch. Your hands clenched and loosened as you stared at him, your eyebrows furrowed and he just gave a lazy smile but you could see the tenseness in his shoulders. Lena just sat there, enraptured by your little game with McCree.

“Draw,” Lena cried out and you and McCree’s hands whipped up, pointer finger out with your thumb up.

“Bang,” you both said as soon as it was in position, you barely holding back the excitement that thrummed through your body at the suspense of the little game you were playing.

“Jesse got it,” Lena said cheerfully and you sighed, your body relaxing as your hand slipped into your lap, “Sorry love, he is a cowboy.”

“Bona fide,” he said with a tilt of his head and you just smiled at him, happy that they took to you so easily.

There was something bothering you though.

“You’ve been treating me differently,” you said, peering at Jesse and he just gave a nervous giggle.

“Feels wrong to hit on a married woman,” he said, picking at a hole in his serape, “Even though you and Genji don’t seem that close…”

“Just not something I wanna do,” he said, shrugging.

You just hummed, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. Eventually, you just shrugged, figuring you weren’t going to push him where he wasn’t that comfortable. You did miss how charming he was when you first met but your marriage had affected the rest of your life it made sense for it to change things here as well.

“Hey,” Genji appeared over your shoulder, his fingers reaching to touch your shoulder before settling on the couch behind you, “My master would like to see you.”

“Master?” you asked, shifting yourself up and off the couch.

“You’ll see,” he said with a shrug, you just giving a face saying why not, “He just got back from a mission or you would have met earlier.”

You trailed after him, your eyes trailed down for a second to see his perfectly sculpted butt there. You gave a small smile to yourself, your eyes flickering up just as Genji turned around. He just looked at you, seeing your eyes staring at him with just a little too much.

“Did you just?” he whispered and you could sense his suspicion grow under his mask.

“Your butt changed,” you commented, and he looked away with his hands throwing up into the air slightly.

“No touching the merchandise,” he finally said after a moment of deliberation, his hands moving to cover the cheeks, “My managers yell at me.”

You snorted and you could tell he was smiling at least. You couldn’t help the happiness that started to bubble inside of you, he had just grown into such a fun guy to be around and you did wish to be more than the coldness the two of you had during your time together.

“Master?” Genji called out into the room and you stood a clear foot behind him, your hands holding each other awkwardly.

The omnic at the other side tilted his head around, nine glowing eyes in his forehead. He gave a small circular wave and Genji easily sat down next to him, you came to sit on the other side with your butt pressing into the heels of your feet.

“I am Zenyatta,” he said, his voice warm and you bent slightly at your waist in a small bow before introducing yourself.

“You used your own last name,” he noted, you froze at that.

“I didn’t know,” you said, picking at your pants, “I suppose it’s just more natural to me.”

“Master,” Genji said, you unfamiliar with the tone he was using and Zenyatta shifted a little.

“It is no matter I suppose,” he said,  “A name is just a haphazard title to something it could never fully cover.”

Your shoulders released tension that you didn’t even know you were hiding. Zenyatta tilted his head slightly as he looked at you but you were grateful that he decided to not ask about it.

“I understand that your marriage was one of design and not affection,” Zenyatta said, his hands gracefully resting against each other with the fingers slipping together, “you were still a part of Genji’s life and I wished to meet you.”

“It's alright,” you responded, “Have you talked to Hanzo as well?”

Genji froze up and you felt a twinge of sharpness spread across your throat, you were hoping for a better answer than what you guessed but it seemed you were going to be disappointed. Zenyatta gave a soft hum and rubbed Genji’s shoulder, the cyborg's body easing.

“He refuses to talk to me,” Zenyatta said, his fingers tightening slightly, “Healing cannot start until the mind sees that there is help to be had.”

You folded your arms, seeing Hanzo hadn’t changed from the stubborn man he used to be. There's nothing you could say to the eldest Shimada to change his mind so you just shrugged, wondering what next to say or discuss.

“What was Genji like as a child?” Zenyatta said, “or at least when you met him.”

“No,” Genji said next to him, hands up as if to dissuade the smirking joy radiating from his master, “Certainly there are more interesting things to talk about. There was such a wonderful cat down the street the other day; shouldn’t we go see if she’s still there?”

“Well I may not have been there for child Genji,” you said, a small smile on your face, “but when I first moved to Hanamura, Hanzo told me a story about a certain restaurant Genji went to with the family for business.”

“Stop, please,” Genji said, his hand up in a praying motion, “I beg you.”

“I would like to hear more,” Zenyatta said with a smirk, “Please go on.”

Genji groaned and you continued with the story about Genji grabbing a piece of chicken of the table to loudly proclaim and let people know what it looked like. A certain genitalia that started with ‘p’ that rumbled through the entire restaurant with Sojiro sitting there amused. You finished the story with Genji groaning while he lay on the ground, his hands covering his mask as you gave a nod before getting up.

“Thank you Zenyatta,” you said, hand on your thighs, “I enjoyed talking.

“As did I,” he said, patting a defeated Genji on the shoulder.

* * *

You left the room, Genji’s groans still filling the air. Amusement flittered around you as you closed the door, movement out of the corner of your eyes and you whipped up to see a flash of blue as Hanzo began to walk pointedly away. You tilted your head and you could practically feel the embarrassment radiate off of him from his tense shoulders.

You casually turned to stalk him with your pace slowly matching his. You saw his hair shift slightly as he peered behind him, Hanzo starting to walk faster as he noticed you trailing behind him. He gave a sharp turn and you burst into a run, knowing that he was about to make his own mad dash.

You slid across the floor as you went around the corner and your hands whipped out to trail against the wall, your eyebrows scrunched together as you saw Hanzo scurry ahead. His ponytail bobbed with each step and you pushed forward, your thighs began to ache and you breathed deeply with each running step.

“Damnit Hanzo,” you cursed under your breath, determination filling you.

You didn’t know why you felt like doing this but his behaviour was suspicious, there was no reason for him to immediately run unless he was doing something wrong and you were going to get to the bottom of this.

You turned around another corner to enter a dead end, Hanzo gone. You didn’t even need to look up as your feet began to scurry up the wall. Your fingers were spread out to find any grip you could as you quickly made your way up. You pushed yourself over the edge to see Hanzo staring at you with his eyebrows furrowed in anger.

“Why are you following me?” he demanded and you stood up, dusting off your clothes.

“Why did you run?” you asked, glaring back at him.

“Are you a dog?” he said as he began to pace, knowing you were starting to get to him, “Going to chase anything that moves in front of you.”

“I will hit you with my fan,” you said, you twirling it out already.

“Very well,” Hanzo said, looking at your fan with distaste, “I didn’t wish to speak to you.”

“That and you were eavesdropping,” you said, “You are pretty unsubtle for a ninja.”

His ears went red and he murmured to himself as his pace grew more frantic, you began to shift your hips side to side as he muttered in Japanese.

“What does it matter that I eavesdropped,” he said, “Am I not allowed to be in hallways now? Must I answer all your inane questions until you are happy?”

“You can just talk to Genji,” you said.

“What do you know?” he snapped, “He barely tolerated you when the two of you were together, even now he has problems being around you.”

“You and I were friends once Hanzo,” you said, watching him just freeze with that, “I am not demanding that we return to that but there is no need to snap out like a child.”

“I am done,” he said, walking away, “I have no more to say.”

You just watched his receding figure, leaping off the roof to startle Angela with light feet. Your hand moved up to rub your forehead, a sudden headache coming on. The man you just talk to was broken, his heart so shattered by his actions that you don’t think he even knows how to start healing.

This was a little more than you, you finally realised, deciding to drop it for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got this done, I hope people enjoy this. I won't say whether the Genji story is based on anything or not.


	3. Chapter 3

_Your hands rested against the lace of your dress, peering around at the people who shuffled at your wedding. Your new husband stood to the side of you, his hand hovering an inch away and refusing to touch you. A solemn look radiated from his handsome face but you kept keeping a small smile on yours, probably for your tearful family that insisted on pictures._

_The night passed in a drunken blur, Genji finally collapsing in the armchair in the massive room they reserved for the newlywed. You sat on the bed, giving glances towards your husband nursing a bottle with your hands awkwardly unbuttoning your dress._

_You shifted awkwardly on the bed with one last look at the man brooding there before going to bed, waking up with Genji sleeping in the chair with an empty bottle dangling from his grip. You got up from the large bed, not knowing that this was setting a precedent for your relationship with him._

* * *

 

Genji woke up with his chest aching, his metal fingers reaching out to grab the clock that rested next to the bed, he peered at the time before shifting up. His feet rested on the floor and he felt a stab of something, realizing that he missed the chill of the floor when he got up to slip his feet into slippers. His fingers thrummed against his thigh before standing up, going to the window to see dusk settling around the base.

He gave a stretch, his human muscles aching, before he head to the bathroom to wipe at his skin with a rag. There was very little use for a proper shower, Genji only really indulging when he really missed it.

He stepped out of his room to pace around, his feet just carrying him in the before dawn air. He leant down to brush a hand against the dew settling on some of the equipment, he looked over to see that his feet had instinctively carried him to where Zenyatta tended to meditate. He stretched his hands out before trotting over to where he knew Zenyatta would be as he watched the sunrise.

“Hello Genji,” Zenyatta said before looking up at Genji, patting the ground next to him, “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I wasn’t expecting to be here either,” he said, while he sat down, his legs crossing, “I had an odd dream and I felt restless.”

“What was the dream?” Zenyatta asked Genji figured he should have guessed that he would ask

“It was more of a memory than a dream,” Genji twined his fingers together.

“Was it?”

“No,” Genji replied and Zenyatta relaxed, “It was my wedding night.”

Zenyatta just watched his pupil, seeing regret filter from the cyborg. He wondered if this was something that bothered him, just overshadowed by his relationship with his brother to be brought out with your presence. The Iris moves in mysterious ways, Zenyatta thought while waiting for Genji to find the words.

“I was a little cruel to them,” Genji confessed, “I didn’t like the idea of being tied down, I wanted to rebel against even the marriage and they got caught in the crossfires.”

“Perhaps you should take meeting against as an opportunity to apologise,” Zenyatta said, “You can make it up to them.”

Zenyatta flicked Genji’s mask, the sky beginning to grown orange as the sun threatened to peer over the horizon. Genji threw himself back with exaggerated force, laying on the ground as he looked over to see a slimmer of the sun come up.

“Friendship is not an obligation,” Zenyatta said with another smack, chopping the cyborg in the chest with a grunt, “Do not offer it as an apology.”

“Sorry master,” he said, pushing himself up and look at the sun slowly rising.

“Start with an apology, go from there,” Zenyatta said.

The sky took on a golden colour and Genji could feel his heart ache in his chest, he slid off his mask to properly breathe in the chill air of morning. His hand rested together with his knees shifting up so he sat on his butt. Zenyatta gave an awed hum at the sight of the morning beginning to flit through the air.

* * *

You shifted your knees to rest just under your chin, peering at Hanzo from the other side of the room. You shifted slightly as you grew lost in thought, your hands almost instinctively going to fiddle with the other. Hanzo shifted uncomfortably but you didn’t even notice, instead, your eyes flickered down to stare at your nails.

Hanzo abruptly stood up, shocking you out of your thoughts, before he stormed away. Your eyes just trailed after him before flicking back down to your nails, wondering why your throat got suddenly tight.

“Don’t worry about him,” Jesse said as he sat down, “Always in a sour mood.”

You just hummed and he patted your shoulder, McCree giving a curious tilt of his head as he just looked at you. His eyebrows pinched in slightly and when you gave a small smile he finally just rubbed your back, watching you instinctively lean into the human contact.

“Somethings wrong,” he said, despite the way it was phrased it was clearly a statement and not a question, “You’ve been a bit lethargic these last few days.”

“I suppose,” you said, head tilting back and forth.

“Wanna talk to me?” he asked and you just pressed your palms together, eyes focusing on the creases of your knuckles.

“I don’t know if I can,” you finally said, “Thanks for offering but I don’t know how to phrase it.”

“That’s alright,” he responded, “Talk to me if you find the words. I’m worried about you.”

“Thank you,” you said, giving a stretch and still feeling that fuzzy feeling settling in your limbs, “I think I’ll go for a walk.”

He nodded at you and you just got up, your feet beginning to walk instinctively forward. You opened the door and gave a slight grimace at the salt, your mind threatening to slip into younger memories. While they were pleasant it just hurt to remember your family, your chest aching with a slight throb as you thought of your parents.

You kicked up the dirt and watched it drift up, floating through the air with each step. The heat radiated up from the ground and you couldn't wait for the cooler months to arrive, though you were told it wouldn't be as cold as Japan. With that thought you gave a sigh, bending down to pick up a rock and toss it as far as it would go.

As it soared through the air a cyborg came closer to you, his chest aching at the pained look on your face. It quickly disappeared as you noticed him come close, your usual apathetic face coming to greet him.

“I'd like to talk,” he said with a hand outstretched, you following the line of his arm as the two of you walked.

That flash of pain crossed your face again and Genji bit his lip, the apology bubbling in his chest. It just wouldn’t come out, instead, he froze and looked you in the eye.

“Are you alright?” he asked and you froze, hearing the concern in his voice, “Something seems to be bothering you.”

“I am fine,” you responded, refusing to look at him.

“You just…” he said, looking at you as he realized what your problem was, “You’re homesick.”

You bristled with anger, your body shaking as you snapped “I’m fine,” Genji giving a small start of surprise at you yelling.

It just seemed so juxtaposed to what he knew of you, never raising a voice at anything he did. He didn’t even know you could raise your voice, you just looking down instead of joining into any sort of conflict.

“I don’t understand why that’s your business anyway,” your finger went to jab him in the chest but froze an inch away, unable to cross that border.

“Can I not care about a fellow agent,” he asked, his body tingling with something at your finger far enough away to put him on edge.

“Enough,” you said, twirling on your heel with your eyes burning, “I’m done.”

Genji had a foot halfway to the ground when he saw a tear glimmer on your cheek, the hot burn of guilt building up in his stomach. You quickly went back indoors, a hand raising to rub at your face. His hands instinctively went to rest on his arms, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip with the pure amount of shame that burned his face.

“I shouldn’t have pushed,” he murmured to himself, cursing himself for stepping over that boundary.

For a moment there you seemed like a friend, someone who wouldn’t mind confiding in Genji. He pushed too far too fast and your walls went up in alarm. Genji shifted his feet slightly as he wondered what to do. If this was years ago he would have gone to Hanzo, assuming that he cared enough about your opinion of him at the time.

“McCree’s close to you,” he said, twirling around, “He can comfort you for now.”

He didn’t know why he felt so empty, much like an unfinished doll waiting for something. He coughed in the hope that would fix it, deciding to note it to bring up with Zenyatta when it didn’t go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, just apparently they wanna fight soo...


	4. Chapter 4

Genji folded his arms and Jesse just stared at him, chewing on the end of the cigar in his mouth. His calloused hands reached up to pinch at the bridge of his nose, rubbing it gently between the two fingers as a puff of smoke came out as he sighed.

“You fucked up, Genji,” he said and Genji had to hold back some of the scathing in his remark.

“I know that Jesse,” he said, his metal fingers tapping against his arm.

“Any suggestions on what to do?”

“You could always try throwing yourself off a cliff,” he said with a smirk, “I’m sure that would go over well.”

“I am being serious here,” Genji said.

“Nothing much,” Jesse said, hands peaking, “I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait out their anger.”

Genji gave a chattering grumble to himself, his legs shifting side to side with the desire to pace. The idea of just sitting and waiting never appealed to him, preferring to attack things head on and solve as soon as he could. His fingers rubbed against each other as he thought it out, his head shifting side to side. He certainly could see the wisdom in Jesse’s words, you would probably not appreciate being prodded against so soon. He looked up at McCree who just looked completely exasperated at the whole thing, knowing he was being torn between two friends of his.

 “Oh,” Genji said, his fingers trying to snap, “I just remembered something I wanted to ask.”

“Do you know them?” he asked, “from before, just seemed like there was history.”

Jesse gave a sigh before a smirk crossing his face and he crossed his arms, “I’ll keep to myself as a punishment for not telling me you’re married all those years.”

Genji threw his hands in the air and McCree laughed, his head tilting back. Genji put his hands back down as the door opened and you came inside, your eyes narrowing at him while anger radiating from you. You just promptly walked over the McCree, a hand on his arm.

Jesse gave an awkward smile as he stood between you and Genji, you absolutely refused to look at the cyborg. McCree turned to you with that smile and you turned away from him, knowing exactly what he was about to ask. He gave a sigh before building up the courage to say it.

“You can’t do this forever,” he said, “You both use the same kitchen.”

 Your face tightened, lips growing thin from how pursed you had them. McCree held back his tongue, wanting to scold you out. The last few days were miserable for everyone in the base, the two of you skulking around like wet cats.

“It is alright, Jesse,” Genji said and your hands tightened, “You do not have to say anything.”

“Okay,” he said, his fingers tapping a rhythm against his thighs with a pure sense of exasperation radiating from him, “I’m gonna get a drink.”

He got up and you quickly pushed yourself up before Genji could say anything, making the cyborg’s chest ache with how mad you were still at him. He gnawed on his bottom lip as he watched you stalk away, knowing he could quite easily corner you but that would only make things worse.

He said it best before, just like you to be stubborn.

Something flickered out of the corner of his sensors, peering to the side without tilting his head. Hanzo stood there for a moment before sensing his brothers gaze on him, slowly and casually walking away. Genji put his hands on his curved hips while he stared at the ground, wondering if he was in deep enough to warrant something that may things a lot worse with another relationship he wanted to repair.

Genji did a slight jog towards his brother, sensing the archer beginning to tense up at the way Genji drew near. Genji swallowed the nerves that were making his throat itch, some of them getting stuck with how tight his throat felt.

“I need advice, Hanzo.”

* * *

You swayed slightly in your armour, your noh mask on as you extended out your naginata. You gave it an experimental swing, hearing it whistle through the air. Beside you McCree quickly cleaned out his revolver, blowing puffs of smoke out into the dropship. Genji meditated in the corner, his finger up to his mask as if he was hushing everyone in the room. Mercy twirled around her staff, flicking between the options to see if there were any issues to be found.

“Mei and Winston are already there,” Angela said, her outfit fluttering with her movements, “They’ll fill us in a bit more when we meet up with them.”

You nodded your mask slightly as the dropship vibrated, landing on the ground. You stepped out of the ship to quickly scurry up the building, dashing from roof to roof with your eyes peering out. Winston came into the line as you looked around, his deep voicing filling you into what Mei had found.

To be frank you didn’t seem to have the full background to understand what he was saying, only knowing Talon from passing word on the street. You sensed his worry though, hearing from Lena that he had a run in with them and they nearly got everything from the database. Fear shuddered through you as you heard them worry if Akande would be here as well, you still seeing the shouldering wreckage that plastered news stations for months after his prison escape.

Your feet drifted across the ground, only a soft pat coming from your pace as you flew across the roof. Something moved out of the corner of your eye and you tilted your head slightly, seeing something dark begin to build up. You felt worry begin to build up in your chest, shaking aside as it disappeared from your sight.

You looked forward, practically feeling Winston’s rage as he roared. You assumed that was where to go and you picked up the pace. You gently threw yourself off the roof, hand grasping the end before your momentum tumbled you to crash against the ground. Your feet planted against the bricks before you scurried down, your naginata tied to your back swaying with your movement.

You felt some air leave you as your feet hit the ground, a small ache in your knees that you ignored. You pushed yourself forward, whipping off your weapon and looking around the battlefield to see exactly what was happening.

Bullets seemed to bounce off of Winston like they were nothing, the only clue that anything happened was the small amounts of blood dripping from fur onto the ground. You twirled it around, taking a step towards the dark figure that appeared. Your shoulders squared up, intimidating him as much as you could with your staff.

He ignored you and moved towards Genji who had just arrived with his sword up. You felt anger stab deep in your gut, your lips turning up into a snarl under your mask. You couldn’t help the way you tilted your mask, conveying anger as if it was a second nature. Your staff raised towards the figure, ignoring the glint from his two shotguns as you stepped forward.

Genji looked up at you, you heard the start of him saying something and you stabbed forward with your staff to pierce the man’s shoulder. You felt anger from the hooded man and you smirked to yourself, hand whipping up a fan to block the shotguns spray, you heard a small clink as some went across your mask.

You began to twirl around your weapon, prodding him more and more into anger. You kept a hand on your open fan, gloved fingers pressing against the sticks of the fan as you used the heavy metal like fabric to taunt him even more. All the while, you prodded him with your naginata, smoke drifting from the wounds.

Your eyebrows scrunched together as you concentrated, watching his form for a mistake. You saw something in his form falter, taking a step to finish this with your mind focused nearly entirely on this Talon agent. Smugness swarmed inside of you as the end of the battle was beginning to fold into your favour.

Then Genji shouted, you just dodging to the side enough to miss the whistling sniper bullet.

Your stance shifted a few inches back and you felt your feet slip a little, the figure in black raised his shotgun to your mask. All you felt was a loud noise before the spray connected to your mask, shattering the ceramic. Your face felt hot and wet as the smell of iron met you, blood freely flowing from it.

You collapsed to the ground and everything slipped away, barely hearing the scream someone gave as you slipped into unconsciousness. It felt like a blur, the world shifting and swaying around you as you flickered between life and death.

Then it was blindingly yellow before the darkness consumed you entirely.


	5. Chapter 5

There was disquiet radiating from the cyborg, his hands nervously rubbing against each other as he waited in one of the old uncomfortable chairs outside of the medbay. Jesse sat across from him, his cigar already confiscated for the meantime by a frazzled Angela before she slipped into the surgery room.

He heard her barking at her assistant and nerves built up inside of him, taking a quick look down at the piece of the ceramic he managed to grab before he followed after McCree in a panic. The paint was flecked with blood and he did his best with his metal fingers to clean it, feeling desperate to see the eye painted underneath. His eyebrows pinched down and he felt his eyes burn as tears began to build up.

“Here,” McCree said, handing him a rag before sitting down next to him.

Genji quickly cleaned it, blinking quickly to will away those tears that nearly built up. It was alluding him on why this made him so upset. He just stared forward, these thoughts making him upset and threatening to drag out that darkness he had carefully moved himself on from.

“You alright?” McCree asked, hand on the cyborg's shoulder and Genji gave a jump.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice soft and weak.

“It's okay to not be,” he started to rub it and a tear slipped down Genji’s face under the mask.

“Thank you,” Genji’s shoulders slumped forward with that, taking a deep breath to centre himself.

Genji’s head leant back, knocking it a bit against the wall. He gave a small hiss at the pain and McCree couldn’t help but chuckle a little at that. Genji pushed at Jesse's arm as he smiled under his mask. The two of them settled down, their bodies jumping with surprise and he whipped around to peer at Angela as she opened the door. Exhaustion radiated from her and she put a hand on the doorframe to keep herself steady.

“They’re fine,” she said before either could ask, “Or they will be now. Their mask protected most of their face and they’d be blind without it.”

Genji squeezed his hand a bit more, feeling the ceramic in them press against the bottom of his fingers. He murmured a word of gratitude towards it, wondering if it was old enough to possibly to have turned into a Tsukumogami. Hanzo would be the one to ask, he thought before pushing that line of thought aside to focus on you.

“…ace was stitched and I want to have bandages on for a few days,” Angela continued, Genji focusing back on the conversation.

“Will there be scarring,” Jesse asked, more for your sake than for anyone else’s.

He just assumed you would like to know before you saw in a mirror.

“There will always be scars,” Genji said, the two looking at him, “It just depends on whether we can see it.” 

* * *

 You opened your eyes, body screaming with pain. Darkness settled across your eyes and you felt panic spread across your body. Your hands whipped up to grasp your eyes and they were caught, warmth and callouses underneath your palm.

“You have bandages on,” Angela said, “Give me a second to adjust.”

She gently tugged the bandages down making a hole in the wrappings, you peering out at her. She felt something flush through her at the sight of your eyes, seeing a fire beginning to burn there. Angela hoped it wouldn’t consume you entirely, as it did Genji.

“What happened,” you asked as you shifted up, your face aching as you talked.

“You got shot in the face,” Angela said, looking at the beeping machine next to you and taking notes from it, “Your mask protected most of your face but you still lost a lot of blood.”

“I assume it’s gone,” you said with a sigh, feeling the disapproval of your family on your shoulder.

“Mostly,” she said, patting your arm, “Genji got a piece though.”

You just looked at her, unsure of what the feeling was that brewing in your chest. Your hands squeezing and you gave a small hiss of pain. Itchiness began to spread across your face and you scratched your arm in an attempt to ease it away. Your eyes moved up to look at Angela, chewing on your lip while you were lost in thoughts.

“Where is he?”

“He had to go on another mission,” she said, “He left something for you next to you.”

Your eyes looked to the side, seeing a handkerchief there. You reached over to grab it, the softness was almost nostalgic as you realized it was his. He never took it with him so it wasn’t surprising he felt comfortable leaving it here.

You pulled at the edge of the cloth, slowly unfolding it. As you did your breath caught in your chest and the bandages under your eyes grew a bit moist as tears welled there. Your finger brushed against the ceramic of what used to be your mask. It was stained slightly pink and some of the paint was chipped but it was yours.

Your fingers curled around it and your head went back to rest on the pillow. Exhaustion settled over you and you closed your eyes, starting to figure out what you’d say to Genji when he returned if you could. 

* * *

 Genji shifted awkwardly in the dropship, wondering whether your anger had abated. He wondered if this is what Hanzo had meant by a thoughtful gift, Angela said that you had seemed touched by it but he was still scared it wasn’t enough to soothe things over. His hands squeezed as the ship landed, his body shaking with the turbulence.

His hands rubbed together as he walked around, his hips shifting slightly as he grew lost in thought. His feet stopped and he looked up, noticing that his feet had carried him instinctively to the medbay. He shifted his weight around slightly before opening the door, taking a few steps into the room.

Your head turned to look at him, bandages still covering it. You just watched him as he cautiously moved towards you, sitting down in the chair next to you. A few moments of silence passed between the pair of you, your bodies tense with awkwardness and you didn’t know where to rest your eyes.

“Thank you,” you finally said, body relaxing, “It means a lot to me that you saved that piece for me.”

He gave a small start, realizing what you said and picking at the metal on his hands, “It was no problem.”

With that out of the way silence came over you again, still unsure of what to say. Genji shifting in his seat, his thighs awkwardly shifting as he gave a sigh. You just looked at him and he opened his mouth to say something but Angela appeared from the doorway.

“I want to take off your bandages,” she said softly, her head turning to Genji.

“I should go,” he said, about to stand up.

“It is no matter,” you said, “Stay if you wish.”

He sat back down and Angela quickly unbound your head, Genji held back any noise as he saw the stitches crossing over your head.  There wasn’t a section of your face that wasn’t pulled together and he felt the urge to rub his own, certain that it was no better looking.

Your face twitched as you felt the urge to pick at it, seeing some of the thread out of the corner of your eye. Genji awkwardly looked away, unsure of what to say. He couldn’t help but wonder if this is how they felt around him when he first arrived here, tubes and rage shimmering from him.

“I’ll remove your stitches in a day then I’ll let you go,” she said before leaving, “you pick at those stitches and I’ll bind you to the bed.”

You just waved your hand, staring forward still with your hands clenched. Genji turned his head back to you, seeing the way you willed your face to be still. He bit back the urge to ask how you were, knowing that it would probably just push your boundaries again. Instead, he looked at his hands, building up courage deep inside of him.

“I apologise,” he said finally, you turning to look at him, “for pushing too much.”

“I should have respected your boundaries but I didn’t, for that I’m sorry,” he tilted his head forward and you just looked at him, swallowing as you did.

You looked forward, mind firmly on the ceramic piece that you had tucked under your pillow for the time being. That he had grabbed it for you and probably wiped it clean of blood meant a lot to you, your anger towards Genji fading.

“I accept your apology,” you finally said a bit stiffly, Genji whipping his head up slightly in surprise.

His body relaxed and he sat back, his shoulder pressing against the back of the chair. He smiled slightly under his mask, giving a rhythmic tap on his thighs in a pent-up energy. Your body eased into the mattress, suddenly lightened from a weight you didn’t realise you were carrying.

“Forgive me if this is too much,” he said, leaning to the side, “Perhaps we should bury the past.”

“Maybe,” you said, arms crossing, “sometimes I look at you and I can’t see the man that I knew then, it seems a bit silly to try and pick up where we were at before.”

“Or at least the negative parts of it.”

He nodded and you tilted your head when Genji said, “Something along friends?”

“That sounds like a good start,” was all you said in response and Genji stood up to leave.

You didn’t even turn your head as he left, your face itching madly with the stitches across them. Shifting over slightly you pulled out the ceramic piece, staring down at it for a few more minutes as you thought about what happened.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As it says in the description this is going on Hiatus as I will be leaving the country until then. I may have several chapters written by the time I'm back so you may get one a day for a few when I have returned.

Your face felt odd, you knew it didn’t make sense but you could still feel the stitches crawling on your skin. But they were gone, tossed into whatever garbage can that Angela had put them. Angry red lines crossed your face but they were healed enough that you were allowed to leave, stalking through the base as your legs ached to move and walk around after being cooped up.

You heard rustling behind the door and you turned on your heal, leaving down the other way to the hallway. You felt your hands clenching instinctively at the thought of dealing with other people yet. You wished your mask didn’t break, realizing that there is comfort in hiding scars underneath a mask.

Despite his claims to have found peace, you wondered if that’s why Genji still wore one around people or if he just got so used from peering past metal that he would feel naked without it. You gave a grumble before leaving the base to trail down to the town, pulling the hood on your jacket up and hoping that it was enough.

The hot feeling of embarrassment spread through you as you entered the town, feeling so many faces turning towards you as you entered. You shoved your fists in your pockets, picking up your pace as you scurry through the town to where you were told to go.

With each step your heart began to feel heavy, wondering how people would see you now. When you were finally allowed to come home would you family look at you with disgust or welcome you back despite the battles you had faced.

Appearances were everything to them though you couldn’t tell yet if it was more to them than the bond of family.

You sat at the table and ordered a drink, nursing it as you waited. Your eyes peered through the crowd and you pulled out the piece of mask you carried with you, putting it on the table.

Time slipped by and water dripped by the side of the glass, the ice melting into the liquid and diluting it. You poked an ice cube with a straw and it broke in half, bobbing around in the drink. Your thighs shifted slightly in the chair, that feeling of being watched swelling over you again.

You felt him arrive before you saw him, sitting across the table from you. He put a package in front of you, a light floral scent coming from it. You already knew where you would put it in your room at the Overwatch base, right where you entered the room so it could greet you.

A hand trailed across one of the angry lines across your face, his thumb gentle as it brushed against the skin. He looked at you and you weren’t sure if it was wishful thinking but you could see a flicker of sympathy cross it.

“How is Overwatch,” he asked, crossing his arms as he leant back.

“Better and worse than I would expect,” you said, knowing he was talking about the state of the program.

“Their equipment was top of the line six years ago,” you said, twirling the straw, “Now it’s dilapidated and something you would find in a school. They’re incredibly understaffed, not enough agents to have a specialized roster yet, however...”

“However?”

“There’s a clear amount of passion there,” you said, “They all believe that they can make it work, running themselves into the ground.”

He gave a hum tapping something against the table before stopping, “We’ll look into funding them. I would have more if you knew you could get them to prod the Shimada’s again.”

“I don’t know,” you said, thinking to Genji and wondering if you shouldn’t come clean about Genji’s survival, “I can’t promise anything to that regard, Blackwatch seems to be dissolved.”

He sighed and took a lean forward, hands n the table and you handed him the ceramic piece. He held it in his hand, seeming to recognize what it came from.

“Mind doing me a favour?” you asked, ready to make a request of the clan.

* * *

 Genji felt restless, unsure of where to go or what to do. Ever since you had left the medbay that awkwardness was gone between the pair of you but he couldn’t say that he saw you anymore since then. You avoided other people, Genji having a pretty good idea of what was wearing you down.

Would your relationship with him warrant some advice, from one scarred person to another, or would it just be another argument waiting to happen? A boundary that he doesn’t have the relationship yet to cross.

 Though he hadn’t seen you at all, making this decision moot until he actually could talk to you. Perhaps Zenyatta could shed light on the situation, the omnic growing concerned at the darkness settling across you as you ostracized yourself.

He sighed to himself as he kept walking forward, giving a small jump as you appeared right in front of him. You both jumped back, giving a shout of surprise of surprise. You hand whipped up, fan out and outstretch until Genji could turn around and put his hands up in surrender.

“It’s just me,” Genji said, you taking a deep breath to calm your tense body down.

“My heart,” you gasped, clasping your chest as you felt it pound loudly in there, “You scared me.”

“You scared me,” he said, you stood up and instinctively brushing yourself free of dust.

His eyes gently trailed across your face, the scars seeming more noticeable with the shock that crossed your face. Noticing the way his mask pointed at you, you tightened your hood to cover more of your face and you couldn’t help the glare that you gave to him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, turning his head away from you slightly, “May I ask you something?”

“Is it intrusive?” you asked in response, and he gave you a small nod.

You tilted your body as you thought, wondering what to say to him as well. Your eyebrows scrunched together and he bounced up on the ball of his heels while he waited for a response.

“I wondered if you would like to talk to me about your scars,” he said and you clenched your hands instinctively, shoving that instinctive urge to push him away down, “Since I have also suffered through many scars.”

You just stared at him, curiosity spiking you at what his face looked like now. A near decade had passed since you had seen him last. While you were unimpressed with his attitude you could never deny how handsome he was. Did he have stubble? Did he lose the fat that he carried on his cheeks?

You nibbled on your bottom lip and Genji crossed his hand, waiting for you, you gave a sigh to push those thoughts away before looking at him.

“I will consider it,” you said before turning away, disappearing down one of the doors as he just stood there rumbling over what happened. 

* * *

 You arranged the ikebana onto the dressed, shifting it so it would greet people as they came in. The few plants in the wide-lipped vase had their buds still closed, you excited to see them blossom through the days to come. You were happy that you could get them from Japan without them blooming on the trip here.

The door opened behind you and you felt a shiver go through your back, wondering who had finally managed to corner you. You slowly turned around to explain to Jesse or Oxton on why you hadn’t been around lately but you felt yourself freeze as neither of them stood there.

Instead, it was Zenyatta, giving a small wave of his hand.

You gave a mimic wave back, giving a small smile. The omnic tilted his head at the flowers on the dresser, giving a hum of recognition at the flowers. You supposed ikebana wasn’t that localized anymore, people everywhere taking interest in the Japanese floral arrangement.

“Who was it from,” he said with a tilt of his head and you looked back with a wave of nostalgia coming across you.

“A friend I made in my time at Hanamura,” you said, brushing a finger against the leaves, “He heard I was injured and had one of my family send that to me.”

“Did you spend a lot of time outside the Shimada castle?” he asked, fingers gently settling to lay between each other.

“As much as I could,” you respond, “There wasn’t a hospitable attitude there, even with Hanzo who was the only one I could talk to.”

He gave a sympathetic noise and you looked at him with suspicion, wondering why he had come to talk to you. Certainly not to ask you about life in Hanamura, something that Genji would have something of an idea about. You had an inkling and you took a step back, regretting not chewing out the Cyborg earlier.

“Did Genji send you?” you asked, peering at him as he just gave a happy look in return.

“No,” he said bluntly, you relaxing as you knew he would confess if it was true, “I came of my own concern.”

“I’m sorry to make you worry,” you said in response and Zenyatta just tilted his head at you.

“An odd thing to apologise for.”

You bit back your tongue, unsure of how Zenyatta would handle it. Almost as if he could sense it he grew even smugger, floating forward a bit further towards you.

“We had also not talked without Genji there,” you opened your mouth to say something but he rose a hand, “Despite how apathetic you are to each other there is still a history there.”

“I wanted to see how you were without that influence, he did mention you were considering talking to him but for that reason, I wanted to offer my assistance as well if you feel more comfortable with me.”

“Why you over Genji?” you asked, folding your arms.

“I’m a surprisingly good listener,” he said, giving a small clap, “especially for someone without proper ears.”

You snorted at that, giving a small smile and he was happy with himself at that. You bit your bottom lip gently while you thought, hand instinctively going to rub at your collarbone.

“I will consider it,” you said, “Thank you for the concern.”

“Now I am thanked for the concern,” he said with a pleased tone, “Just before you apologized for it.”

You held back a chuckle at his humour, knowing it would only encourage him. Failing to hear a laugh pass you lips he decided to tilt his head slightly in acknowledgement before leaving, the door sliding closed behind him.

You turned your head back to the minimalistic floral arrangement, a sigh building in your chest as you knew the others would keep bothering you until you talked to someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The man you meet is a family member, I left it open-ended on how close as not everyone has a brother.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back home, I have another chapter done and I'll probably post tomorrow after proofreading it.

You gently flipped through the pages, reading English there with a tilt of your head. The urge to throw the book across the room flitted across you but you held it back, knowing it wouldn’t magically make the words any easier to read. You gave a grumble, slipping a piece of paper in the pages to keep your page.

You put the book down, pinching the bridge of your nose while you sighed. Your frustration was apparent, brimming deep inside of you. A part of you wished you grew up in a different family, just to avoid the heartache and pain that came with your own. You figured nothing much would happen if you just sat here, feeling sorry for yourself. Your hands stretched out, an ache spreading through your body at the feeling. You stood up to shake your body, movement flashing out of the corner of your eye and you quickly followed it. 

Hanzo’s broad back came into view and your scars ached as anger flashed across your face. You were tired of his disappearing act whenever you noticed him trailing out of sight, a mix of desires trailing across his body. You were sure it was lonely to be such a grouch and a part of him may miss the friendship you shared. 

You certainly did. 

Jesse was certainly a personable man but there wasn't that same understanding you had with Hanzo, though that may have changed as well over the years. You supposed there was only one way to find out. 

“Hanzo?” you asked and then a figure dashed up the wall, making you sigh, “Oh come on.”

You followed after him, his bow pointed at you as your feet padded on the ground. You just rolled your eyes and stepped forward, arms out as if you dared him to take a shot at you. He looked confused, bow wavering under the strain of pulling the string back. 

“Stay away,” his voice was firm but you ignored it. 

“Or you'll shoot me?” you asked with a raised eyebrow, “they like me a lot more than you. I doubt that'll go well.”

“I don't care what they would think,” he scoffed, bow lowering regardless. 

“No doubt,” you grasped the bow from him and threw it to the side, “which is why you let me do that.”

“I do not wish to talk,” he said, about to turn around and leave only freezing when what you said next washed over him. 

“As I would figure from a coward.”

“I should gut…” he started to walk towards you, handsome face twisted with rage. 

“You wouldn't,” you said, pushing at his chest intimidatingly, “because you're a coward.”

Hanzo lunged at you, you gasping his arm and easily twirling towards the edge of the roof. Your foot slipped in front of one of his slim ones, making the archer fall over it and just before he fell you grasped the back of his shirt while letting him dangle there. Shame radiated from him as people poured out to see the commotion, Genji dashing forward to climb up the building to pull you apart. 

“You, Hanzo Shimada,” you roared, your arms straining at his dead weight as if he wanted to fall to his death, “are a spineless coward.”

You threw him back onto the roof, his face wrenched as the last bits holding him together to shatter. Your boot landed firmly on his chest, pushing him down as he just obliged with a look up to you. The pain he had denied for years apparent on his face, your chest aching with sympathy for him. 

“Why are you playing this game?” you asked, foot shifting off of him as you crouched down next to him, “Why run?”

“All the pain that you have felt in these years is my fault,” Hanzo’s voice was tight as if holding back tears, “I struck down Genji, leaving you to live a life on the run from something you were innocent of.”

“You deserve better.”

“So do a lot of people, you don't get to decide what's best for me.”

“But…” he started and you slapped him, making him blink with surprise. 

“Enough,” you said, “I'm leaving before the inevitable rush of people coming up here to pull us apart.”

You paddled down the stairs to the floor below and Genji stood there, hands clenched. His head tilted as he looked at you, clear disappointment radiating from him. “I don't approve of what you did,” Genji said and you just stared at him. 

“You don't have to,” you replied, walking past him, “it wasn't for you anyway.”

* * *

You held onto the forms that Winston needed Jesse to fill out, the gunslinger being particularly slick at sneaking away at the end of missions to not get it done. Your legs quickly glided against the floor, hand clenching the data pad intently the more people you passed to keep your mind off of the scars that began to ache.

“McCree?” you called into the medbay where Athena told you he was hiding, 

Your jaw dropped as you realise he was buck naked, Genji sitting on a bed nearby and facing away. Wounds trailed down his chest and he stared at you blankly, you taking in none of that as you saw what was just above the boxers he was desperately tried to pull up. 

“It's much larger than Genji’s!” you exclaimed and Genji made a flustered noise, quickly jumping up to grasp your hands to have you look at him.

“When did you see!?” he asked, hands clasping yours and you just stared blankly at him with a faint blush on your face. 

“You've never touched me before,” you said softly, hands gently squeezed by his. 

“How'd you two…” Jesse's voice trailed off, pants finally latched close. 

“We never consummated the marriage,” you said, shifting your hips, “if that's what you're asking.”

McCree gave a surprised blink as he grabbed his shirt, slipping it on. You looked down to see Genji’s hand still gently resting on yours and you pulled away, feeling tingles spreading across the entirety of your arm. 

You rubbed your arms across your legs, hoping to wipe that feeling away. It felt like your chest ached with a feeling you couldn't describe, latching into your throat and making it hard to breathe through it. 

You threw the data pad at McCree, twirling around on your heel and leaving. Something swathed your mind, covering your mind with drifting thoughts. Genji’s touch still trailed across your hands and you didn't know what was happening to you. 

“Are you alright?” Genji’s feet padded behind you and you turned around, face suddenly red at his smooth voice. 

“Your face is red,” his palm spread across your forehead as he was suddenly much more comfortable with touching you, “perhaps you should lay down.”

“Thank you for the concern,” you softly said, hyper-aware of how his fingers moved slightly on your forehead, “perhaps I will do that.”

You quickly walked away, your body stiff as if you had forgotten everything in his presence. You weren't sure what switch flipped inside of you at his gentle touch but you weren't sure you enjoyed it. 

You reached your door to walk past the floral arrangement there and strode to the bed there. Your body curled up under the sheets, enjoying the warmth of the bed. Your stomach clenched tightly when that familiar mask flashed across your mind, your face pinching together as you felt hatred toward that feeling.

* * *

Your legs strode through the building, hands tightly pressed against the package you were holding. You bustled past Angela, not even stopping to say hello as she waved at you. Her eyebrows furrowed together, seeing that disliked fire deep in your eyes again. 

You opened the door to where Winston roamed about, puttering about plans and looking over reports. He didn't even look up from his table, Genji turned to you however as he wondered what had you so determined with your suit on. You ripped it open to show something black in there, slipping it on your face to peer at them. 

The ceramic shard - still tainted pink with blood - stuck into the fabric of the mask. You tilted your head slightly before catching the tool that Genji tossed at you, head moving as you looked at it. 

“I'm ready to go back on missions,” you said, your armour moving as your hips shifted. 

“Very well,” Winston said before picking up a data pad, tossing it to you to read, “next one is suited for you.”

“Doesn't Dr Ziegler need to clear her,” Genji said, confusing you with the desperation that radiated from him. 

“Already did,” Winston said moving things around, “she just wanted to wait for that package first.”

His heart latched in his chest while Genji looked at you, face clad in the leather mask. His fingers trailed across the bottom of the metal of his own mask, wondering if people had the same sense of unease from his own mask. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay in my defence for being late is that I've been sleeping or working. Sorry about that and I'll make the next chapter a bit longer to make up on the wait.

You shifted back and forth, twirling your naginata between your hands while you felt your chest move with the shaking of the dropship. Your grip tightened as you prepared mentally for your mission. A calming mantra filled your mind, letting out a deep breath. 

“Don't worry love,” Lena said, confident smile on her face as she checked her rifles.

“I know first mission back from med leave is a bit threatening,” she said before winking at you, “I'll make sure you're fine.”

“Don't keep me from too much of the fun,” your modulated voice came from the mask, you turning to look at her.

“Blimey that's creepy,” she said, looking forward again, “glad you're on our side.”

“So far,” you teased before entering the dropship that opened, leaving her a bit stunned.

Lena quickly scurried up behind you with a nervous chuckle, slipping her guns back into her holsters. You sat down to watch her settle awkwardly down, you smiling as she kept looking at you with curiosity. 

“You do know I'm joking right?” you said and she burst out into loud laughter, awkwardness washing off of her with that.

* * *

Genji looked over at the clock, watching the seconds tick by. There was unease swirling inside of his body every second you were out on that field. Memories of your blood splattering the ground consumed him, adding to that sense of unease that was swelling inside of him.

A selfish part of him wished he didn't realise the cause of all this discord, that his feelings remained apathetic. 

A flash of guilt swelled through him for thinking that, there was nothing wrong with the way he felt about you. Genji could hardly help the way his chest clenched at the wide eyes you had as you looked up at him. Your mouth opening slightly with pure reverence at his touch, softly admitting it was the first time. 

He wanted to pull you close in a hug, see how much more flustered you'd grow at the touch. Though he'd probably just end up angering you again, leading to a few weeks of silence right after those fluttering emotions bloomed deep in his chest. It would have been a larger strike than it was last time. 

Chatter built up on the comm as the dropship landed, a congratulatory tone coming through the fuzz of the radio. Genji looked up at the ceiling for a moment before getting up, slipping around the back to get a glimpse of you while you traipsed forward to talk to Winston. That creepy mask of yours peered around, making his chest ache. 

He understood the comfort of a mask but to see it reflect on you was terrifying, you were growing more reliant on it. You didn't eat with everyone else, going to your room instead and eating alone. Genji missed the slight curve of your smile. 

The slight worry that you were trying to hide those lines on your face out of shame or desperation filled him. He just wished that he could just talk to you. 

He pulled on his fingers slightly before twirling around on a foot to go see Zenyatta. Genji had held back these feelings for just himself, wanting to bathe in the warmness building up in his chest forever.

* * *

Your face was free. Discomfort clearly radiating from you as you poured over the datapad in front of you. You wished you hadn't left your mask in your room, craving the comfort that hiding your face brought. Your teeth worried against your bottom lip, wondering if it was worth it to slip away to hide in your room.

The door opened and you looked down at your hands, hoping they wouldn't notice you. A familiar stride filled you and you realised who it was, seeing Hanzo’s metal boots come into your view. 

No words passed between the two of you but there was no hostility. You had settled into a peaceful silence, still unsure of what to say to each other. You'd figure it out with time, still wobbling through the pain of reconciliation. 

Hanzo stood next to you, a scowl on his face while you gave a hum. He stiffly looked over your shoulder to see what you were looking at, his movements still awkward as they were around you. However, he actually could stand in the same room as you, that progress making you happy. 

The door opened and you didn't even have to look to see who it was, knowing immediately. Hanzo immediately turned on his heel and left, knowing that Genji had arrived. You didn't even look up from your report to see the cyborg quickly walk towards you, his head tilted slightly. His behaviour had been odd recently, determined to stand by your side whenever he could. You didn't know what was up with him but honestly, it wasn't something you were going to think a lot about. 

Genji was free to be odd, acting like he needed to be around you or it hurt. 

You checked some things off of the paperwork, Genji sitting down on the couch near you. His body began to shuffle towards you slowly and your eyebrow raised, tongue biting to hold back the urge to quip something at him. 

A metal hand patted on the couch and you sighed, sitting down next to him and his head tilted slightly to look at you. A hand gently trailed against your cheek to tuck away a stray hair and your chest clenched with a painful feeling. You flinched away from him, hands instinctively covering the scars that trailed against your face. 

“Please,” you finally choked out, making Genji freeze with guilt. 

He pulled his hand back, tilting his head slightly while giving a faint hum. His metal fingers gave a slight rhythm against the back of the couch. You looked down at the ground, heat blaring from your cheeks as more embarrassment flushed through you. 

“I apologise for pushing you with touch,” he said, his hands wrapping around each other, “perhaps I should show you something.”

“Show me what?” you asked, your hands clenching. 

You could sense that boyish grin on his face, rolling your eyes as you were certain that he winked at you. Curiosity filled you but you held back your questions, knowing that Genji could be stubborn when he wanted something.

“Very well,” you said before getting up,”I'll let you have your secret.”

“Good,” he said, slipping his hand into yours and pulling you along. 

You just looked up in surprise, watching the rooms flit past you as he led you further and further away from prying eyes. Your eyes moved to look back at him, seeing how light and perky he was to show you this finally.

You looked down to notice that it was Genji’s room, you confused by the excitement building inside of you. He pulled you inside and you blinked with surprise, looking around the room and noticing the little tidbits of his personality sprinkled sparsely on the walls. 

There were slight knick knacks on the dresser, some of them handmade. There was a delicate metal decoration that had omnic writings on it, a gift from Zenyatta you presumed. He turned around to look at you, seeing the way you leant over to adjust something. 

“Here we are,” Genji said, twirling around with his hands in the air, “my humble abode.”

You sat down on his neatly made bed and looked at him, “so I'm here, what was it you wanted to show me.”

“This,” he said, hands on his mask as a puff of air came from it while he pulled it off to show his face. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, to make up for the last one being a bit short I made this one longer to make the difference. Hope you enjoy as I really dwell on the slow burn aspect.

You held back your jaw from dropping, intense brown eyes staring at you. Those dark eyes softened at the sight of you, making your chest clench horribly at the sight of it. You absentmindedly rubbed your collarbone, eyes still trailing across his face and comparing it with the differences that occurred with him growing up.

“What?” he asked, giving a small smile that crinkled his eyes, “am I so handsome that you lost your words.”

A small laugh bubbled in your chest and coming out as a puff of air. You casually pushed at his chest and he threw himself back, his scarred face turning joyous at your touch. Your fingers twitched to stroke his cheek, to feel the slight scratch of the stubble growing out on his cheeks. The years had settled well on his face, despite the scars his cheeks were well defined. There was a touch of Hanzo in his face, it clear that the two were brothers the more they aged.

“You look a bit like your father,” you said, your will to hold back your fingers from trailing across the metal inserted into his jawbone and you gently brushed your fingertips against it, “just like Hanzo does.”

He shivered at your touch, his eyes growing wider and leaving you with confusion. That clenching feeling came back, you making a note to ask Angela whether you had any heart problems. Electricity trailed up your arm as he rested his hand on top of yours, a deep breath in his chest as he leant into your touch.

“When you look at my face do you see a monster?” he asked, his heart aching as he wasn’t certain that he truly wanted to know the answer.

“I don’t,” you said, your throat aching and unsure of where he was going with this.

“I don’t when I see your face either,” he said, you giving a small gasp as your eyes began to burn and you held back the urge to cry, “I see someone who despite all life has thrown at is incredibly strong, just as beautiful as the moment I met her.”

“You thought I was beautiful when we met?” your voice was soft, unsure of why you could barely speak more than a hush.

“I did,” he said, choosing to not mention that if you weren’t a tool of his clan he would have liked to be with you.

His eyes were so deep now, staring through you as if the entire world was in front of him. His tongue flicked out to lick his lips, sitting up as he lowered your hand to hold tenderly in his lap. You held back a shiver as he rasped your name, leaning forward and you were unsure why you suddenly had problems breathing.

“I…” he started, his head starting to tilt to the side as he neared you and you felt anticipation for something you were unsure of.

He was inches away when your comm dinged, you suddenly relieved as you looked down at it to see what you were messaged. There was a flash of disappointment from Genji as you got up, it wiped away as soon you looked back. He slipped his mask on, standing up as well.

With a few paces, he was at the door, opening it with a flourish. You just smiled, walking out first as he cheekily said ‘after you’.

“How’d you enjoy the view?” he asked, you about to start walking down the hallway, “Out of ten how do you rate my room?”

“A lot cleaner than you used to be,” you said, teasing him and his hand rested on your shoulder, “Overall a seven out of ten, it’s a bit empty.”

“Well I’ll have to get some things,” he gently pushed you along, “Wouldn’t want to disappoint the lady.”

“I’ll talk to you later Genji,” you said, Genji’s chest aching at how close he was to kissing you and how dense you seemed to be to his feelings towards you.

He didn’t know how you felt, Genji’s opinion seeming to flicker between you feeling the same to you feeling nothing with each interaction with you. The way that you had gone wide-eyed there, staring at his lips made a flicker of hope that you did beginning to swirl inside of him again. His hands tightened before turning around to meditate, wondering if he should talk to Zenyatta for more insight on the whole situation.

* * *

McCree’s spurs rung with each step, you rolling your eyes and he just tipped his hat at you. You slipped your comm into your ear, your ears beginning to fuzz as it turned on. You quickly scurried up the building, giving a wave to McCree who adjusted his casual plaid shirt he was wearing. He stuck his hands in his jean pockets, enjoying just being in a casual outfit for once.

“I have sight of the target,” you said, noticing the Talon benefactor slipping into the crowd, “Just outside of the café.”

“Which café?” Jesse asked through your comm, “There’s five on this street alone.”

“The one everyone complains about but still goes to,” you said, Jesse just laughed before informing you that didn’t help at all.

You chuckled to yourself before giving the name, some coffee place with a mermaid for a logo. You kept walking forward, keeping your head down to stop people from panicking below as the sight of someone on the roof unfortunately gave a negative connotation and you didn’t need to stir people up below. You were suddenly grateful that your parents had you trained when you were younger, easily slipping across the roof without being noticed with your eyes trained onto the man.

“He’s slipped into the alley,” you said, stopping as you reached the edge of the building, unsure if you could make it across without being noticed.

“Think he noticed he was being trailed?” Jesse asked, suddenly nervous about whether he should follow suit.

“I am unsure,” you said, biting your lips as you debated whether it was worth it.

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” Jesse said, shifting a bit, “Group up and then we’ll go in.”

“Okay,” you said, scurrying down the ground in the dark side of the building to slip into the crowd.

You slowly shifted through the people, keeping an eye open for Jesse as you listened to his instructions. Anxiety began to prickle through you as you were certain that everyone was staring, unsure of why you let McCree convince you this needed to be done in civilian clothing. You grasped your folded naginata, feeling reassured by the small rod in your hand.

“I’m here,” McCree said, hand on your shoulder and your body completely relaxed.

“Just in there,” you said, pointing at the alleyway, “He shouldn’t have gotten much ahead assuming that this isn’t a trap.”

“Ladies first,” he said, waggling an eyebrow and you just rolled your eyes at him.

You let your naginata slip out, extending fully before you leapt over the homeless man sleeping there. McCree gave a small apology to him after accidentally waking him up, tossing him some money before catching up to you. You froze, the hair on your neck standing up as you felt something unsettling cross over you. Jesse quickly caught up to you and pulling out his gun as a knife whipped out at you, you instinctively dashing to the side and giving a grunt as you raised the naginata with the blade catching on the staff.

“Shit,” McCree said, uselessly unable to shoot without hitting you.

The target whirled his hand back, ready to stab you when McCree caught the blade of the knife with his metal hand. Sparks flew from the impact and Jesse whirled his hand to hit the man in the stomach. A hiss of pain came from him, and you quickly knocked it out of his hand with the blade of your naginata, some blood beginning to pour down to the ground.

His face shook with anger and he whammed the side of your leg, you feeling it spread a cramp through your thigh at the hit. Using that he pulled out a gun, aiming it at your leg with an intense look on his face.

“They want you alive,” he snarled a wide smile on his face before pulling the trigger.

Your teeth gritted as you waited for the inevitable pain, hoping that the bullet wouldn’t hit the artery there. Surprise flitted across you as you were pushed to the side, hearing McCree cry out in pain as the bullet hit his thigh instead. You barely thought about anything as blood gushed out, dashing forward to grasp the man by the wrist to slam him against the wall with his head hitting the brick hard.

“I know your type,” he spat, blood flitting against your cheek as you wrenched the gun out of his hand, “Too soft to actually do anything.”

“We’re not actually here for you,” you said, Jesse was pressing down hard on his wounds as best he could, “We’re actually here for this.”

You pulled a datapad out of his pocket, watching his face turn white at the sight of it. You just kept him pinned up to the wall, looking at it as he began to struggle. You looked back to McCree, concern filling you at how he had bled through the bandages.

“I’m curious about what Talon will do to you once they figure out you lost it,” you said before whamming him over the head and knocking him out, “But that’s not my concern.”

“Okay Jesse,” you said, lifting him up and calling the dropship to pick you up immediately while letting Angela know that she had a new patient, “Let’s get you back.”

* * *

“It uh…” Jesse said as you entered the room to see Genji already sitting there and looking intently at the Gunslinger, “Hit the artery.”

“I figured it did,” Genji jumped at your voice, looking at you slowly making your way to both of them, “You bled a lot.”

“Don’t you worry about Lil ole me, missy,” Jesse tipped his hat at you, “I’ve had worse than this I guarantee that.”

“It’s less worry,” you said, folding your arms and Genji suddenly felt fear spread across his back, “but more curiosity.”

“What about?” Genji asked casually, trying to lean to the side like he hadn’t figured out what you would ask next.

“Why did you take that bullet,” you asked, Jesse’s lips growing thin before hiding his eyes to stop you from seeing the way he looked at Genji, “No offence but you know I can take care of myself.”

“You know how it is…” he trailed off and Genji raised a hand, silencing him.

“I asked him to,“ Genji silently confessed, “Or at least keep you safe if he could, not that I directly asked him to take bullets.”

Your face grew a little cold, saying goodbye to McCree before stalking out. Genji gave a sigh, McCree wishing him luck as he went to trail after you. Genji didn’t know how this would end up but he felt like he should explain himself before your upset feeling overwhelmed you.

“I can take care of myself, Genji,” you said as he walked towards you, standing there as the rain began to patter against the warm ground just outside, “I don’t need you to worry about me.”

“I know you can,” he said, his voice suddenly pained, “but I can’t get the memory of you injured out of my head.”

“Why do you care,” you asked, turning to him with confusion spreading across your face.

“Because you mean a lot to me,” Genji said, “and I worry. I thought it would help to ask McCree to keep an eye on you, I didn’t know that he would actively take a bullet for you.”

“Though I can’t find it in me to disapprove.”

 You sighed, the tenseness in your body slipping away as you couldn’t find it in you to be angry at him. That achy feeling spread across your chest again and you couldn’t stop the incredibly tender smile that spread across your face. Genji gave a pained noise, you reaching out to grasp his shoulder in concern.

“You alright?”

His voice was higher pitched than usual as he nodded, “I am fine, I should speak to Zenyatta now though.”

“Okay,” you said, unsure of why that hurt, “I’m sorry for getting upset.”

“I cannot blame you for it,” he said before slipping away, you watching the tense way his lithe body walked.


	10. Chapter 10

You gave a glare to Jesse, making him sit back down on the couch as you got and grabbed a glass. You felt some of the water slip down the side as you held it under the running faucet, the coolness spreading across your fingertips. You turned off the tap and walked back to him, handing the lukewarm water to him.

“There ain't even any ice,” Jesse playfully grumbled and you rolled your eyes in response, heading to the freezer just go grab an ice cube to slip down his shirt.

He gave a cry of surprise and you just smirked, rubbing his head, “You wanted ice.”

He glared at you before dramatically looking at Genji, words out of his mouth before he could think better of it, “Your wife is mean, Genji.”

Jesse froze immediately, eyes flickering between you and Genji. Genji seemed tense as his head slowly tilted to you, hoping that you wouldn’t notice the way that they both had eyes on you. Your hands almost instinctively clenched, unsure of why you seemed a bit pleased at something at most annoyed you.

“I suppose I am,” you said, Genji unsure what part of that sentence you were confirming and he didn’t know if he was comfortable with knowing.

McCree and Genji shared a look, Jesse shrugging at his friend. Genji turned his head back at you, his fingers slipping together and rubbing each other in a nervous tic that he had kept through the years.

“How is Hanzo,” Genji finally asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

“He is good,” you said, “or at least, he seems a bit more comfortable now the two of us are talking again.”

“That is good, he needs someone right now.”

McCree just gave a sigh, certain that his opinion on the whole situation wouldn’t be appreciated. He can see why you got so frustrated with the man that you nearly threw him off the roof, despite the way that Genji had ranted about the whole thing later. Jesse had just laughed halfway through the rambling, saying it sounded like cyborg had a crush on you with the way he worried.

Genji was so embarrassed to admit it was true.

“I suppose he just couldn’t talk to you directly Genji,” Jesse said and Genji just stared at him, McCree laughing as he realized he was being glared at.

“I can just hold him off the building again,” you smiled, Genji’s head whipping to you and making you laugh as you realized he was glaring.

You could practically see it, remembering the way that he tried to glare at his brother when he was young and in trouble. A snort came from deep inside your chest and he threw his arms up in the air, Jesse giving up as well and giving a loud belly aching laugh.

The two of you giggled as Genji walked away in a fake huff, you knew that he was holding back his own laugh at the way his shoulders shook.

* * *

“How is Genji,” Hanzo asked, the two of you staring out to the sea crashing against the shore on the roof of the base and Hanzo absentmindedly kicked his thin legs off the side of the building.

“He is fine,” you said, your fingers tapping against your thigh as you realized the odd situation that they had just trapped each other in inadvertently, “You can talk to him.”

“I cannot,” Hanzo said, “I do not deserve it.”

“I’m gonna push you off this building,” you glared at him and he gave a bitter bark of laughter and leaning back as you lectured him, “Stop being such an emotionally stunted cactus.”

“To be lectured by you about accepting emotions,” he smiled, hands spread out, “you must see the irony.”

“I do not,” you tilted and he looked at you incredulously, giving a small snort.

“For you to not really know how you feel about Genji,” he chuckled to himself and you just looked even more confused, “You are either blind by intention or you’re a fool.”

“Okay,” you said, hands up, “I don’t know what you’re talking about and if you’re just going to mock me I’m going to leave.”

Hanzo’s laughter followed after you as you left, you grumbled to yourself as you stalked down into the hallway. Your irritation at the archer mocking you, confusion filling you on what he had told you. You found yourself going down random corridors, freezing as you heard Angela’s voice ring out into the hall.

“You have to confess,” she scolded, wondering who was getting the talk down now, “We’re all tired of your pining glances.”

“It is not that easy,” Genji responded, you uncertain why your stomach felt like it fell through the floor and such a void built inside of you, “I cannot just simply tell her.”

“Why not,” your hands clenched as Angela asked that, you quietly leaving with your eyes burning with something latching deep in your throat.

Your feet scurried even faster as you wanted to hide in your room, wondering about the legality of divorcing a man that was considered dead for a decade. You had no right to stand in the way of Genji’s happiness.

You didn’t know why it hurt so much, perhaps the realization that things had finally changed from the life your parents wanted for you.

* * *

“Angela suggests just confessing,” Genji said to Zenyatta, the omnic giving nods as Genji could see a shit-eating smirk on his face if he could.

“That would be the bluntest route,” Zenyatta simply responded and Genji sighed, leaning back.

“I don’t feel that would be appropriate,” Genj said, “I don’t want to just confess like that, she deserves more than that especially with how I treated her before.”

“From what I’ve seen, she doesn’t even know what her feelings are,” Zenyatta said, “It may just be something that she had never considered of you, confessing may force her to face those feelings or it may push her away.”

“I don’t know if there is an easy answer,” Zenyatta finished, “No matter what you do there is never a guarantee that the two of you will end up together.”

“There was no guarantee of us meeting again either,” Genji’s hands rested against each other as he stared forward.

Zenyatta just watched his pupil think, seeing the cyborg stare at the grooves in his hand. Genji finally just threw himself up, energy flitting through him as he gave one last look at Zenyatta and giving an apologetic look.

“I am sorry master,” he said, “I have to do something.”

“Let me know how it goes,” Zenyatta said, turning back to his meditation.

Genji burst through the halls, his feet light as he looked for you. He shot a message to Jesse, wondering if the gunslinger had seen you around as he thought it was a good chance you were either with McCree or Hanzo.

When he got confirmation that you were in your room he turned on his heel, immediately walking towards it. His momentum carried him to your door, Genji suddenly punched in the stomach with nervousness.

His hands froze just above the metal, second thoughts beginning to swirl inside of him at telling you. His will hardened and he knocked against the metal, hearing you begin to move inside of the room to open the door.

“Genji?” you asked, Genji unsure of why your voice sounded so force, “Why are you here?”

“I need to talk to you about something,” he said, “May I come in?”

You stepped aside and he walked in, his eyes noticing the ikebana with bloomed flowers greeting him. Some of the petals were starting to droop, their lifespan slowly fading to the end. You just bit your bottom lip as he looked at it, unsure of why you wished he would stop looking at it.

“I can help speed this up,” you said, Genji looking at you in surprise, “I know why you’re here.”

“You do?”

“I apologise,” you said, eyes downcast as you couldn’t look at the green band of his mask, “I overheard you talk to Angela.”

“Then…”

“I am not here to stand in the way of your happiness,” you said, Genji’s chest beginning to ache again at the sight of you so distraught, “I will sign the divorce papers if you want me to.”

“What did you overhear,” he asked, his hands threatening to shake as he felt his chest throb with pain.

“That you have feelings for someone,” you said, a clearly fake smile on your face and he wished to pull you close and reassure you that you misheard, “I can imagine a marriage is a deterrent for some people, I understand.”

“You do not understand,” he said, his hand on your shoulder and you instinctively took a step back out of his grip, “Please just listen.”

“I don’t see much point,” you said, “It seemed pretty clear.”

“No,” Genji said again, slipping his mask off to look you in the eyes with a look on your face that brought that painful emptiness in your stomach back again.

“The person I have feelings for is you,” he said and you just stared blankly at you, unsure of what to say.

The two of you just stared at each other and you just awkwardly looked away, unsure of what to say to that. You saw pain flash across his face, his eyes trailing across your face as if to memorize it. Your hand reached up to cover your cheek, suddenly self-conscious.

“I’m sorry,” Genji said while taking a step back and your chest hurt again, watching him slip his mask over his heart broken face, “I will not bring it up again.”

He left the room and the door closed, you resting a hand on your chest as you felt tears slip down your face. You reached over to grab your datapad while sniffling to make an appointment with Angela, determined to get to the bottom of your chest pains.


	11. Chapter 11

Genji stalked through the base, slowly filtering into the abandoned rooms that was dedicated to Blackwatch. There hadn’t been much use for them yet, Blackwatch nothing more than an idea of the past but he had something here he had left when he was much less equipped to handle it.

He felt his chest ache with nostalgia as he walked past McCree’s old serape, the black fabric slowly eaten away by moths, his breath stopping at Gabriel’s beanies. Memories of the years he spent here slowly washing over him as Genji walked down the halls he spent so many years raging through.

He stopped at a row of lockers, looking at the name inscribed on them. As if in a dream he instinctively walked past Moira’s locker to find his, his metal fingers trailing across the Kanji of his name he scratched next to his name in English.

He opened it, the emptiness of it making him realise he didn’t make much of an impact here physically. There was just a small lockbox at the bottom that he picked up, hoping that he was as forgetful locking this as he was his locker.

The hinges creaked as he opened it, a photo of him and Genji with the top torn as he tried to rip it before collapsing to the floor mid rip. His fingers soothed he ripped paper, tucking it into a pocket into his armour to tape up later.

Something small and metal knocked against the corners of the lockbox and he reached in to grab what he came here for, his fingers curling around it. He pulled it out and Genji’s hand slowly unfurled with his heart in his chest, a metal band sitting there in his palm.

His fingers shook as he picked it up, staring into it. The high-quality gold glinted in the small amount of light in the building, his teeth sunk into the small amount of his bottom lip that was still skin and he held back his sadness. He slipped his fingers around it again, putting it in his pocket next to the photo before turning around.

His shoulders tensed up as he quickly left the Blackwatch building, heading straight towards Zenyatta as he didn’t feel the urge to talk to anyone else right now. Genji’s heart still ached, seeing the way you just stared at him when he confessed to slowly look away. He would move on in time but for now, he had to sort out his thoughts, preparing to tell Zenyatta exactly what happened.

Zenyatta always had the insight to fix these things.

Genji knocked on the door and Zenyatta looked at him, tilting his head slightly as he asked, “How did it go.”

Genji just shook his head and Zenyatta gave a small soft noise of sympathy, opening his arms and the cyborg threw himself into them. Zenyatta gave Genji a small squeeze, hugging his friend and Genji just soaked up the affection.

“What happened exactly?” he asked and Genji pulled away, setting on his legs to sit there before telling his master the events that just occurred.

Zenyatta just looked at Genji, his hands slipping into each other as Genji’s shoulder loosened from the tension he was carrying there. Genji’s eyes drooped with exhaustion as he finished, the emotions settling inside of him as he told his friend about his pain.

Zenyatta rested a hand on his shoulder and Genji leant into it, Zenyatta looking his pupil in the eyes.

“It sounds like the whole thing may have been a bit overwhelming,” Zenyatta said, “as I said before I don’t think she knows how she feels, just give her some space and if she has feelings she’ll know to approach you.”

“Okay,” he said, his chest freeing from the tight grip that held it, “I did all I could, it’s no longer up to me.”

“You went to the Blackwatch facilities,” Zenyatta asked and Genji nodded, pulling out the items he had grabbed to hand to Zenyatta.

“I left some things years ago,” he said, Zenyatta looking at the wedding band in his palm, “It felt appropriate to get it now.”

“I am happy that you are in a good enough place for these now,” Zenyatta handed them back to Genji.

“I think I know who I’m giving this to,” Genji said, flattening out the picture, “I just need some tape.”

* * *

“Brother,” Genji said and Hanzo threw himself over the back of the couch to run away, Genji sighing before chasing after his brother.

“Why this,” Genji asked, finally cornering the archer, “Why run?”

“That should be obvious,” Hanzo said, glaring at his brother, “What do you want this time? More advice for someone too oblivious to figure out what they’re feeling.”

“I have something for you,” Genji said, his hips shifting as he walked towards Hanzo and handed him a small amount of paper.

Hanzo just looked at his brother before turning it over, his throat closing as he saw the two brothers much younger and happier. Hanzo’s calloused finger trailed against the small amount of tape at the top of the photo.

“I tried to rip it,” Genji’s voice was soft, Hanzo giving a small pained noise, “but I couldn’t do it, as much as I hated you then I couldn’t find it in me to tear you from that.”

“I want you to have it,” Genji said, “I feel like you should.”

“I…” Hanzo stuttered before pulling the photo close and tucking it away, “Thank you, I will treasure it.”

“Is this a bonding moment,” Genji asked and Hanzo gave a strained smile, “This feels like a bonding moment.”

“Sure,” he shrugged before walking away, “my quota has been filled for the day on sap, however.”

Genji just smiled under his mask before leaving, happy enough to start repairing the bond he had with his brother.

* * *

Angela just looked at you with exhaustion radiating from her, you unsure of why she seemed so tired already. You peered over at her desk to see a mug sitting there, steam coming off the coffee and you wondered if she had enough time to even take a sip yet. You tapped your fingers against your thigh, Angela swerving around to drink some coffee.

“Let me get this right,” she said and you shuffled forward slightly, “You want me to check on your heart.”

“I’ve been having pains in my chest,” you said and Angela stared at you, seeming to want something stronger in her drink.

“Has anything been causing them,” she said, hand moving up to point at you, “Any stimulation that may be causing them.”

“You know the body can express emotional stimulation with physical pain,” she said almost pointedly, looking at you and you leant back in thought.

“I don’t think so,” you said and Angela just groaned into her hand, finally standing up and putting her stethoscope in her ears.

“Let’s give you a hear then,” she said, you gave a small jump at the cool metal against your chest.

She tilted her head as she listened to your heart, giving a soft oh as she listened. You looked at her intently as she moved back, wrapping it around her neck to sit back in her chair. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and anxiety filled you, wondering what she heard to give her such an exasperated sound.

“Your heart sounds fine,” she said, you tilting your head confusedly.

“Then why the pains,” you asked and she just gave a smirk, her face almost painful to look at with the pure amount of attitude in her face.

“Have you considered that you’re in love,” Angela said and you just stared at her, tilting your head back as you thought about it.

You stared at her for a few moments before shaking your head, “Nah, I don’t even know who I could be in love with.”

“You people are driving me to an early grave,” she said before getting up, “I’m going to get more coffee.”

* * *

You peered at the paperwork in your hand, sifting through it back and forth. It was clear that this mission was originally meant for McCree and you at least until Angela put her foot down and put Jesse on rest a bit longer, it even referring to Genji’s weapon as a revolver in a paragraph. Your chest ached as you realized how awkward this would be, Genji feeling uncomfortable being in the same room with you still.

“I can…” Winston looking between the two of you, unsure of why you wouldn’t look at each other but just assumed that you had another fight, “I can ask Lena to help instead Genji.”

“I am alright,” Genji said, “We need to start towards this, what we learnt was too important to ignore.”

You looked down and anxiety filled you at the names of members of your clan there, Talon’s slow infiltration of your clan there on paper. Your hands shook and you tightened your grip on the datapad, looking up at Winston with wide eyes.

“I need to let them know,” you said and Genji just looked at you, his shoulders shifting forward slightly at the pain on your face.

“Already did,” Winston said, exhaustion settling across his body, “I still want to move forward with our own mission.”

“Target alive?” Genji asked and you looked at him, unsure whether you could trust yourself not to kill someone who threatened your family like this.

“Preferably,” was all Winston said and you got up, ready to prepare for your mission and leave as soon as possible.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if there's typos.
> 
>  
> 
> It's late.

Your hips swayed as you walked towards the dropship, deftly extending and putting together your naginata. You gave it a testing swing, eyebrows furrowing as something felt off. You peered at the latches, giving a groan as you saw the thread beginning to go. You just tightened it as tight as it would go, hoping you'd remember to replace the parts when you got back.

You stepped into the ship, sitting as far away as you could from Genji. He shifted uncomfortably and you cleared your mind, or at least the best you could with his confession popping up in your head. Your hands tightened on your naginata, dismissing any thoughts about what your chest hurting could mean.

It didn’t matter, all that mattered right now was the mission.

You ignored everything, feeling bullets pass right through you but not even wincing at the pain. You refused to even look to see that Genji was reflecting a lot of them away, his body radiating concern from his entire being at the amount of damage you were taking. A lull in the battle finally came and Genji stared at you.

You ignored him, knowing that he wouldn’t have it in him to say something.

And he didn’t, looking up at you as your fingers flew across the panel to bypass it. That cold unbearable mask staring forward, cutting off whatever words of caution that Genji would tell you. His grip tightened on his weapon, realizing that he would have to take it into his own hands. You didn’t like it when Jesse took a bullet for you but you’d actually have to talk to him to scold him.

The door opened and Genji tightened his grip on his blade, something inside of him on edge at how suddenly quiet everything got. He knew Talon wouldn’t let go that easily and he had to be ready for it.

You just walked past Genji, his hands tightening on his blade. The two of you hurrying across the base. With the lack of people coming towards him the few hairs remaining on the back of his neck began to raise. Something was wrong and he didn’t appreciate being lead into a trap like this.

He felt the words begin to bubble up inside of him, refusing to come out. He hoped that he was wrong, otherwise he’d be smothered in guilt.

Genji almost wished he was back to his old self, too consumed by rage to feel anything beyond it. That thought settled badly in his throat despite being a thought that he had often, he missed that darkness that settled across his life. He wondered if it was just because it was such a massive part of his life then, an old companion that broke him.

His shoulder pressed into the wall as he tried not to look directly at you. He didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, just glancing behind you and you were sure why you were getting that aching feeling in your chest again.

Someone began to shuffle behind the door you were silently waiting by.  Genji raised his finger to press against his mask, in a mock imitation of someone hushing. You just ignored the urge to roll your eyes, certain that it would get nowhere.

After a moment of preparing you both swept into the room, quickly pinning down the person there. With a quick look to the photo to clarify that it was the right person, he was quickly tied and gagged as his eyes bugged out with shock and surprise. You quickly slid your naginata back into it’s compressed form before clasping it to your belt.

You grasped him by the back of his arms and stuffed him over your back, muffled complaints coming from him as the two of you quickly made your way back outside. Genji even began to believe that it would all pass without a hitch.

Then the few hairs that remained on the back of his neck began to rise, that uneasy feeling filling him up with a boiling heat that made him nearly gasp. His hand whipped to his blade as he dashed forward, the cybernetics he had for legs groaning at the rush of energy he pushed to them.

His arm went numb as the metal shattered with the bullet, just a moment too late for his blade to reflect it back. His right hand shot some shurikens at the twinkling red visor on the roof before grabbing his blade before it hit the ground.

You gave a hiss as something inside of you seemed to shatter at the sight of his arm gone. He gestured for you to keep going and you pushed forward, ignoring that nagging feeling that you should have brought your mask but after that talk with Genji about your scars it seemed wrong to wear.

You dropped the man as soon as you slunk into the hidden drop ship, ignoring the pained grunt that he gave through the damp gag. Genji held his shoulder, his fingers twitching as you could barely begin to guess what he was feeling. You quickly moved to the console, deftly beginning to move away from all of this.

The next few hours were a blur, giving Winston the status report before dropping whoever this was into the cells. Your feet just kept carrying you forward, not much thought on where you were going. The smell of oil reached you and snapped you out of your thought. You’d instinctively moved towards the mechanics labs, towards…

You snapped around on your heel, your feet deliberately moving away from the realization that had brewing inside of you for a while. It seemed too much, threatening to swallow you whole in an anxiety you were sure you could manage.

You found your way back to your room, your fingers threatening to dig into your arms. Your knees failed and you founds yourself on the ground, swaying to the side as your end fell on the ground.

It felt crushing, the realization that so many years of your life gone without meaning carried a massive bitterness inside of your chest. The more you fell the more you were reminded of the far past.

“Shit,” your fingers curled into a fist against the floor, a tear streaming down your face as that bitterness and darkness ebbed out of you after a near decade of being on the run.

* * *

 

Genji gently moved his fingers, the bare-bones cybernetic prosthetic shifted awkwardly instead of that smooth glide he had from the old one. Genji knew he had to be patient, it took time and resources to make a better quality arm but even patience couldn’t ebb that sneaking pain and discomfort.

As he slowly made his way back to his room a sneaking instinct grabbed hold of him, slipping down another corner to make his way through the buildings. He suddenly froze, his hand hesitating to open it as if he could feel you burning brightly just beyond it.

That moment passed and he opened it, you flinching and whipping around to look at him from your spot on the ground. Your eyes pierced right through him and he suddenly found himself holding his breath, as if it was sacrilege to breath.

“Genji,” you breathed, your hands suddenly awkwardly in the air as if you didn’t know where to put them.

He carried himself to your side, sitting down with a hand absentmindedly taking off his mask with something deep inside of him telling him it was better to show his face.

“You know,” you started, your knee pushing up to your face with your arms wrapped around your legs, “I would try to imagine what you were like.”

“Hmm?” his head tilted with a musical noise.

You nodded before continuing, “Before we met, I wanted to know the man I’d spend my life with. Whether he would be kind, passionate, caring.”

Your head tilted to look at him, an eyebrow raising. He met your eyes, his chest beginning to throb painfully at the sight of you.

“I thought you were none of that when we met,” you said, shifting a bit, “To be honest I think I was right. The ‘you’ then was selfish and arrogant.”

Genji winced though his face clearly showed he thought the same of himself then. You took a deep breath, anxiety beginning to grow inside of you. After how you treated him through all of this you could hardly blame him if his feelings had changed.

But seeing him hurt changed things inside of you, it was such a different feeling of pain than when McCree got injured. You felt guilty then, a bit saddened that a friend was hurt because of you. But with Genji it was a fiery heart ache. Something that filled you entirely with dread.

“We were a bad match for each other then but I’m not that same person and neither are you,” you said.

“Now when I look at you, I see everything in the man I thought I would love.”

You suddenly couldn’t look at him anymore, your eyes trailing off into the corner where you couldn’t see the way his face would move with that realization.

His fingers trailed into yours, then his palm as he held your hand.

“I think maybe now, we can really start to be together.”

He gave a sigh, something tense that almost waited to spring out of his lungs. You leant over there, in both a blink of a second and an eternity. He could hardly breath as your lips pressed against his.

His hand moved to grasp your waist and you leant onto his chest, hand grasping his shoulders and feeling the grooves that trailed there. He pulled away and you suddenly could look him in the eye, your hips shifting closer to him as you rested your head against his metal studded chin and looked down.

He just rubbed your hip with his thumb, letting you calm down with deep breaths stretching your body. Genji didn’t say anything, looking off again as he let you slowly compose yourself. You felt your heart grow sweeter and throb heavily in your chest as you fell more in love with him, with the him that let you grow accustomed to caring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also idk if epilogue, do you want an epilogue?


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